Nightmares Within the Darkness
by Coraline15
Summary: There are many different legends within the city... What would happen if Zim and Dib were to stumble across one of them...? (Details inside) Please R&R? Slight ZaDf
1. Chapter 1

Nightmares Within the Darkness

**_Disclaimers: All Invader Zim characters as well as JtHM are owned by Jhonen Vasquez and are copied without permission. This story has been made for fun and not profit._**

Writer's Note: This is one of my first Invader Zim stories that I've done in a really long time, so please don't be mean about how it's written. The idea for this story kinda came to me while looking at different IZ pictures on DeviantArt. I might need a while to figure out everything that should happen. I'm not sure why, but I really think it would be really interesting to read. I really wanted to write about this. This story mostly takes place around Zim and Dib; maybe more about Dib though, not too sure... I am a little unfamiliar with how to write, since it's been so long. Also, they might be a bit out of character later on. This might be slightly dark and dramatic. So for people who may not be into this kind of thing, might not want to continue reading this story. Just a warning in case you are. (Rated PG-13 for extreme drama and slight suspense.)

Part One

The day was cold and windy; indicating it as being early fall. Within a distant suburban town, thick clouds of fog hung in the cool air around many of the buildings and empty streets. A cold breeze rushed through the empty branches; causing them to creak in protest. There were not many people out in the streets. The streets were nearly completely vacant as a young boy around the age of twelve dressed in a black overcoat as to protect him from the cold. Beneath was a pale blue shirt with a grey smiley face on the front with a neutral expression; along with black pants, boots and a large pair of glasses. His hair was black and was in a scythe-like style. His name was Dib Membrane.

As more time passed, Dib continued his way down the road; actually not looking upset but was actually very happy as he went along. 'Finally..! It's fall break... Now I don't need to worry anything at all... No more stupid days at school and no more stupid people that don't believe me.' He thought to himself joyfully. Though he was now in Junior high, things seemed to not have really changed. Even with how much he tried, it was almost impossible to prove that Zim was an alien, mainly because of everyone being completely stupid. No matter how much he tried, everyone still thought he was crazy.

"But today might be different." Dib told himself. "I will find a way to stop Zim and foil his evil plans."

A cold breeze rushed past him; causing him to shiver and grip his jacket. "W-why does it have to be so cold out?" He kept walking but then something caught his attention; making him stop. It was a voice from behind him.

"Still speaking to yourself, pathetic human?" It said tauntingly.

Dib spun on his heels and glared. Standing behind him was what seemed to be a young boy around the age of thirteen and had bright green skin, no ears with black slicked back hair and deep amethyst eyes; which was really disguise to hide that he was in fact Irken; an alien that had come to Earth not too long ago. He was wearing a red jacket along with black pants, boots, and gloves. A grey and red metallic device rested on his back.

"Zim!" Dib glared.

"Just because we no long need to be in that wretched learning felicity, you assume that you will stop me..?" Zim sneered.

Dib growled.

"Oh, I'll do more than just stop you, you slimy lizard! I'll cut you up and slice you open!" Dib barked out. "And then, I will be hosted for my discovery of an actual alien monster!"

"HA!" Zim laughed. "You can't even imagine the horrible future of your pathetic race!"

He gave Dib a forceful shove to the ground.

"We shall rule you all!" Zim screamed.

Dib glared angrily.

"Not if I stop you!"

Dib got up and lunged at Zim, tackling him to the ground. Zim gave Dib a hard kick in the gut, making the young paranormal investigator to grip his stomach in agony and letting Zim go. The young Irken got up again, and took off down the road. Dib growled angrily and soon took chase after him.

Up above, the two hadn't noticed the clouds above them beginning to get darker as they faded into the distance. Zim continued running, heading farther and farther into the forest. Dib never trailed behind, now actually picking up his pace; his feet pounding against the soil as he ran, low branches around him, whipped past his head, some of which striking against his shoulders as he followed Zim deeper into the wood. That was, until, Zim came to a complete halt; causing Dib to nearly plow into his back and knocking him down into the grass.

"Guh! What the heck, Zim!?" He shouted rubbing his head and back.

Zim didn't respond to him, only staying completely silent and still as a statue.

"Zim!?" Dib shouted.

Zim only stared ahead with a look of complete awe and shock. Dib glared at him but soon turned and looked in the direction Zim was looking, before his face also wore Zim's shocked and dumbfounded expression. Only a few feet ahead, stood what seemed to be the back of an small and single floored house. The house itself seemed to be in shambles; wooden boards and nails covered the doors and windows. There was a very stale and pungent smell seemed to cumulate out from the broken and boarded windows, causing a nauseating and chilling feel to the place.

There was bolt of lightning that suddenly streaked through the sky in the far distance; the clouds that had been white and gray starting to darken at an alarming pace. That was when they came to realize that it has been getting darker by the second. The wind soon became a gale as a strong rain began to fall and pelt the ground around them. Up above, the sky has now become a world of inky black darkness; becoming lighter as a flash of lightening lit the sky not too far off. Without warning, there was a loud crash as large segments of nearby trees were starting to be torn away from the ground. Sand and dirt began to fly into the air at an alarming pace. As the lightening flashed again, they were were struck dumb as they could make out the sight of a figure; a dark, indistinctive figure watching them from inside the building.

Now in a panic, the duo took a step back before turning on their heels and fleeing through the trees in the opposite direction. They could hear their pursuer close behind as the wind grew stronger and harder. Zim and Dib tried to run as fast they could, trying their best to get away.

As they were running, the two were still getting pelt by the rain. That was when Dib's foot suddenly caught on a large bit of stone causing him to trip as damp earth gave way beneath him. With a wild and loud scrabbling and scraping of dislodged stones, the ground soon gave way beneath him, causing him to slip. Dib reached out with both hands, trying to grab something to keep him from falling. Zim screamed in a panic as he felt Dib's hands grip onto his ankles.

"Let go of me!" Zim screamed.

Zim then cried out as the ground beneath him also gave way, causing the both to plummet into darkness, the both causing a faint splash from within the darkness around them.

**I am ALIVE! :D:D:D I am SOOOOOOOOO sorry for taking so long to actually make anything... I've just been super busy with other things ^^; So, it's been a really long time since I've actually wrote anything *nod* So... Please be nice? ;^; I'll try to make some more of this... Unless I lose interest in this ^^; Please read and respond?**


	2. Chapter 2

Nightmares Within the Darkness

Part Two

Dib stirred, now regaining his consciousness. It could have been minutes or hours that he had been completely out of it. Dib shivered as he became more aware of where he was, though he could barely see what was there around him. In the end, it was the extreme coldness and his own shivering that woke his up. Dib let out a painful and groggy moan as he forced his blurry and unfocused eyes open. _'W-what happened..?'_ Dib thought trying to sit up...

"Gah!" Dib cried out, a searing hot pain shooting up through his shoulder and neck.

Dib took a breath to try and ease the pains in his body. After what seemed like forever, Dib finally managed to get into the sitting position. As he looked around to try and see everything around him, he found that he was waist deep in freezing cold and murky water. Dib shivered and let out a cough before he nearly froze as he then saw another form on the other side of the chamber. Zim was right across from him, laying in a tight and numb ball against the opposite damp and rocky wall.

Dib hissed in agony as he tried to get up. He then realized that his right leg had taken serious injury on the way down. Dib rested against the stony wall. That was when Dib heard a weak and painful moan. At first, he had thought the sound had somehow escaped his throat; but then he heard it come out louder, nearly echoing around their dark and cold tomb. That was when Dib realized the sound hadn't come from him; it had come from the still motionless body across from him.

"Z...im.." Dib croaked.

Zim didn't answer him.

"Z-Zim..!" Dib managed to say, a bit louder this time.

Zim groaned and began to stir. He then let out a shriek of pain, along with a few swears in Irken language before finally calming down again, the pain in his head and back finally subsiding a bit. The young Irken's eyes flashed as he glared at the boy angrily from his position against the wall.

"You... Stupid human..!" Zim growled. "Look what you've done!"

Dib glowered angrily.

"What _I've_ done!?"

"You pulled me down into this retched place!"

"If I hadn't had to chase _after_ you, we wouldn't have ended _up_ here!" Dib shouted back.

"I... You..!" Zim started. "You're LYING!"

Dib rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"You are such an _idiot_, Zim..." Dib groaned out.

Zim snarled and painfully stood, nearly collapsing as a fresh wave of pain washed over him like a tidal wave and he fell back against the wall. Dib took this time to look around to see where they had ended up.

"If you think you are such a genius, where did you drag us to!?" Zim asked, a bit weaker now; clearly from the pain in his body.

"By the looks of it..." Dib started. "I think we may have fallen into an old well of some kind..."

Zim growled and threw his head back against the damp stone wall.

"Well isn't that just great!?" Zim growled.

"S-shut up..." Dib groaned, a new pain forming in his body.

It was a blazing and throbbing pain; and yet, the water couldn't numb it; regardless of how cold it was. Dib let out a breath, a bit of mist forming from his mouth. Zim stared at him for a moment, soon letting out a cough.

"S-so this is it then..." Zim said, his voice now hoarse and scratchy from the screaming and coughing. "We are to die within this stupid fifty foot hole of freezing cold acid!"

That was when Dib could actually see smoky clouds were ascending up from around Zim's body. Dib then realized something; Zim was actually bleeding, his magenta blood actually making the water more murky and filthy than it already was. Dib shuttered as another chill washed over him again. Zim let out a very hard and painful cough as he tried to stand up.

"Y-you probably shouldn't _d-do_ that..." Dib breathed out, a numbness washing over him.

Zim sneered viciously.

"Y-you are not i-in charge of-!" Zim was cut off by his own rasping coughs and hacking.

He let out a low groan as his eyes started getting heavy.

"Hey!" Dib shouted.

He then slapped Zim in the face, the sound nearly loud enough to echo around the cavernous chamber, making Zim groan.

"If you fall _asleep_ here, you'll _die!"_ Dib shouted.

Zim glared angrily.

"Why would you even _care...?"_ Zim rasped. "You would kill me _anyhow..."_

Dib opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it again. Why did he even actually care? Zim was his enemy after all. Dib then let Zim go, fighting the new pain in his aching shoulder as he sat back against the wall. All that filled the chamber now; was complete silence.**_  
_**

**Cliffhanger! D:D:D:D: Anyways, sorry for such a short chapter ^^; I've kinda been stuck for a while ^^;^^; So, if anyone wants to help me out, let me know so I can upload a bit earlier than normal :3 But anyways, please read and review and let me know if any of this sounds okay :) Thanks :D **


	3. Chapter 3

Nightmares Within the Darkness

Part Three

It had been many hours before anyone spoke. High above them, the storm seemed to have passed; yet it was still very dark; which Dib had figured that nighttime had fallen over the city now but Dib didn't make an effort to move, knowing this may actually be it for the both of them. Just then, a ragged cough broke the silence and Dib looked up. He could see that Zim had become more limp and only relaxed against the wall.

"Zim..." Dib said.

Zim didn't respond

"Hey!" Dib shouted.

He then sucked in a breath as a new pain washed over his body. Unlike before, this pain was numbing and stiff, his spine feeling brittle and tingling from the cold; feeling ready to snap at the slightest movement. Dib gritted his teeth as he slowly managed to get up. He was about to scream; tell him how stupid and pathetic Zim was for not responding or moving from his spot, when the harsh and cruel words died in his throat. Zim just lie there, still and motionless. He looked so exhausted, but it was more than that; he looked pale and actually really sick. Dib then looked down and saw the water was actually stagnant with the young Irken's blood.

"Z-Zim..!" Dib nearly shouted in awe.

Zim made a very weak and almost sickly groan.

"Zim..! Hey...!" Dib shouted, his voice a bit shaky now.

Dib gave Zim a rough shake, getting only a sickly groan from his enemy. That was Dib realized, Zim's body didn't feel warm; it felt stiff and as cold as a corpse, actually seeming to be more dead than alive.

"ZIM!" Dib said, screaming this time.

Zim let out another hard cough and finally opened his eyes. Dib let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"Z-Zim..." Dib breathed out.

Zim groaned as he tried to sit up.

"H-how l-long...?" He coughed. "H-has it been...?"

Dib looked around.

"I-I don't really know..." Dib finally croaked, his own voice dry and sore.

Dib stifled a cough and shivered, trying to stay calm. Zim shuddered as the numbness in his body became stronger, his eyes growing heavier. Dib moved closer to him.

"Z-Zim..." He started. "Zim, come on!" Dib shook him harder to try and wake him up again.

Zim lay very still and limp.

"Zim!"

Dib slapped his face over and over but Zim didn't awaken again.

"ZIM!"

Dib hit him harder, but the Irken remained limp against the wall. Dib kept hitting and hitting, trying to make Zim stir.

"Z-Zim..." Dib croaked out. "G-get up... I d-don't want to d-die alone..." He finished, his voice making a slight whimper as he spoke.

Zim remained lying limply against the stony wall of their prison. Dib stiffly yet hurriedly removed his trench coat, draping it over Zim's limp form. After doing so, Dib pulled his legs against his chest and hug them tight. He let out a harsh cough into his hands, shaking in horror as he then saw splotches of crimson coating his palms. Dib rest back against the wall, his own eyes becoming heavy and blurry from exhaustion and cold. Within the darkness, there was a cough. The soft sounds of moving water soon filled the darkness as Zim finally stirred.

"O-ouch..." He groaned, feeling a stinging pain in his face.

Zim looked down and saw the black trench coat draped over his body. That was when he looked up and saw Dib was curled up against the opposite wall.

"Dib..?" Zim croaked

Dib didn't wake up.

"Dib!" Zim shouted, punching his shoulder.

Dib yelped and let out a moan. Dib shivered and stirred.

"Z-Zim... Y-you... Y-you're not dead..." Dib croaked, in surprise and a bit of relief.

Zim coughed and sat back again.

"N-no... I am not dead..." Zim replied with another cough. "Why are you not upset?"

Dib looked at the murky and bloody water, deep in thought. Why was he relieved that Zim was still alive? Didn't he want Zim to be dead? Why was it so _important_ that Zim was still alive?

"I-I don't know..." Dib replied, hoarsely.

There was a howling of wind from above them as another storm was beginning to form.

"W-we have to get _out_ of here..." Dib groaned and began to stand up.

He stumbled across the chamber on stiff, aching legs as he tried his best to search for a way out. When he began to grip onto one of the icy stone walls, the rocks gave way, crumbling to the floor; creating a chain reaction to the other three and everything came tumbling into the old and abandoned well. Dib and Zim took cover as wall of dirt and rock showered over them. They didn't move from their positions; that was, until they realized that the water around them had withdrawn to only their ankles. Dib looked up in confusion and stared into the new looming darkness within the spot where the now missing wall stood.

"Zim... Look!" He hissed quietly.

Zim looked up and now stared in awe, a shocked and almost dumbfounded expression as Dib stood up. Slowly but surely, they began to walk towards the tunnel as the darkness beckoned them.

**I really need to work a bit harder on these chapters... -_-; I feel like I'm not trying hard enough ToT I want to try and figure things out so I can update faster -.- Oh well *shrug* If anyone has any clue on what I should have happen next, please let me know ^^; Thanks**


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